Happy 2016 to all of our clients, friends and colleagues! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and we wish each one of you a successful and productive 2016.

The end of 2015 certainly demonstrated that both Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio intend to aggressively police employers to ensure compliance with a variety of Labor & Employment laws. So buckle your seat belts because it is going to be a wild ride.

Governor Announces New Task Force to Combat Worker Exploitation

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a number of new measures to support the mission of the Task Force to Combat Worker Exploitation. First, the Task Force will be supported by $700,000 to coordinate outreach and education with workers and employers, as well as investigations, prosecutions and data collection and compliance efforts. Additionally, the Governor has created an Anti-Retaliation Unit and a Mediation Unit within the State Department of Labor to eliminate retaliation against workers who assert their rights, and to expedite the speedy disposition of cases generated by the Task Force's investigations. The Governor has also launched a new website (www.ny.gov/EndWorkerExploitation) to provide workers, employers and the general public with information about the Task Force and how to come forward and help combat worker exploitation...

On November 30, 2015, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio signed a bill establishing the New York City Office of Labor Standards. The Office will be led by a Director tasked with studying and making recommendations concerning worker education, safety and protection, educating employers on labor laws, creating public education campaigns regarding worker rights, and collecting and analyzing labor statistics...

Under federal tax law, employers are permitted, but not required, to offer qualified transportation benefits to any of their employees. However, effective January 1, 2016, employers in New York City are subject to the Mass Transit Benefit Law, requiring most employers with at least 20 full-time employees to offer employees the opportunity to use pre-tax earnings, up to $130 per month, to pay for certain "qualified transportation fringe benefits". New York City employers have two options to comply...